Ah, yeah two. Sandra (the mare), and Amy (the farmer's daughter), were actually on-the-spot fill-ins where I decided a character was needed, so I'm still working on thier parts. I'm finding writing this story is sort of like filming a movie; even I don't know exactly what will happen until I sit down and type it. But once I'm typing, I can look back whenever I feel like it and yell, 'CUT!!' and change what I feel neds changing.

But I don't actually, you know, 'yell' cut, because I'm often doing this late at night and I might wake someone. More like I think 'cut'

And because I'm not using actual actors or anything, I can 'cut' as many times as I want and no one gets annoyed or irritated with me no matter how long I take or how many times I change the script on them. Until I begin to irritate myself, anyway Anyhow, moving on..

As for Mr.'You-know-who', of course it's bad he's in the picture. If he weren't around, we quite literally wouldn't have a story. But I believe I've said a trifle too much as it is...

Okay, apologies for the wait, but here is the next part.

---Part 13: Beyond Belief---

“Huhn? Wha? Where am I?” In the Andrews’ barn, all was silent but for the sound of a vixen slowly regaining consciousness. “Ohh, my leg…where am I?! What happened?! What did they do to me?!” The vixen trembled with fear as she tried to stand, only to collapse again in pain. “Hello?” Dixie slowly glanced around the corner into the stall. “Good, your awake…how do you feel?” the fox started at the sight of the big fury animal in front of her. “Ahh! - OWOWOW!” she yelped in pain. Dixie tried to calm her down. “Easy there, dear. You need to stay off that leg for a while and get some rest.” The vixen shrunk as far back as she could in her crate, trembling as she cried. “W-who are you? W-what are you g-going to do to me? W-What happened? I want to go home!?” Dixie crouched down and tried to make herself as small and unthreatening as she could, remembering what she had done with Chai when he first came to the farm. “Everything’s going to be okay, dear." She spoke in a calm gentle voice. "You are safe here with me. My name is Dixie, and you can trust me, I promise; I won’t do a thing to you. I apologize if I scared you just then, but if you’ll just come out of there and calm down, I’ll try and explain everything.” The vixen carefully, slowly, crept out, still shaky, keeping her weight off the injured leg. “That’s it dear, just stay off that paw. Lean on me if you have to, there you go. Now, do you have a name?” The fox curled up on the ground, and looked up at Dixie; fear was still in her eyes. “Th-thanks, um, Dixie. My name is Sakura.”

Dixie smiled as she sniffed the vixen and checked her over. “Sakura? That’s a lovely name.” The vixen managed a small smile. “Thanks…All I know is I thought I smelled something funny, and when I went to check it out, it went snap, and bit my leg hard, and it hurt, and then all these humans came running and they took me and I tried and tried but I couldn’t escape and my leg hurt and I was scared and then it’s all a big blur and…and I think you were there! Or at least I think I remember your scent…it just happened all so fast, and next thing I know, well, here I am…wherever here is?” “You are at the Andrews’ farm, just west of the Great Forest.” Dixie began to explain. “F-farm? What the heck is an andrews farm?” Sakura was now confused, and even more scared. Dixie sighed. “It’s where my humans and I live and work.” Sakura was shocked. “Your humans? As in, you trust those things?!” “Yes. These humans aren’t bad at all, they’re…well, I guess they’re sort of like my family. And they’re very nice humans, who wouldn’t hurt animals like us. It sounds very strange, but it’s true, I’ll have to explain it later. For now, I should explain what you are doing here.” Sakura nodded in agreement. “First off, I was indeed with my humans at the time. We rescued you from that trap, and the humans took you to see a veterinarian. That’s a human who’s job is to work with sick and injured animals and hopefully help them heal. You’d be amazed at how well they do. Anyway, they bandaged up your leg and put it in a splint, to help you heal quicker. Had we left you, you almost certainly would have never survived, even had you been able to escape that horrible leg-trap. You’re going to be okay now, but your leg needs time to heal. A few days, maybe even a week tops, and then we’ll take you home to the Forest. Until then, it’s best that you stay here and rest.” Sakura frowned. “I have to stay here for a week? Oh, my mate will be worried sick about me!” Dixie frowned. “I’m really sorry about all this, Sakura. But it’s all for the best; just trust me.” Sakura put her head down and sighed. “Well...okay.” This farm was new to Sakura, and so unlike the forest, she felt as if she’d never get used to it. But Dixie seemed very kind; her presence was calm, and her voice soft and comforting, like that of a mother to her child. “I feel safe enough with Dixie around, but I still wish I were home in the woods; this place just makes me uncomfortable. And I’ve got nothing to do here but lie around. *sigh* It’s going to be a long week.”

“By the way, Sakura, I’d like to introduce a good friend of mine. She’s up there.” Dixie motioned upwards to where Sandra had been silently watching over them. Sakura seemed a bit startled at the new face. “Oh!” Dixie chuckled, and introduced them. “Sakura, I want you to meet my friend, Sandra.” The mare smiled and spoke gently. “It’s very nice to meet you, Sakura. Either Dixie or I will always be around if you need anything during your stay.” The vixen nodded shyly. “It’s nice to meet you too, Sandra. Oh, and thanks for the help.” Dixie smiled and motioned to the corner of the stall, where a dish of water sat. “Sakura, you should have a drink; because you probably lost a fair amount of blood in the last few hours, you need your liquids now more than ever. There’s water just over there.” “Thank you, I am feeling a bit thirsty.” Sakura slowly made her way over to the water dish against the wall, and lapped a few tongue-fulls of water. Dixie relaxed a bit, and lay down nearby. “This probably tastes a bit different from the water you’re used to, but it’s still drinkable…” She trailed off. Sakura had finished drinking, but seemed distracted by something. She was focused on the water dish, sniffing it intently. “What is it, Sakura?” asked Dixie. The vixen continued to sniff intently. “This…this scent…it, it can’t be…” Dixie looked at her, puzzled as to what what Sakura was so focused on. Then it hit her. “Oh, that’s right. I forgot to mention that there is another fox who lives here…Is that what you’re smelling?” Dixie guessed. Sakura didn’t respond; she looked astonished as she mumbled to herself. “I’d know this scent anywhere!” She exclaimed. “It’s Chai!” Dixie gasped. “Yes! His name is Chai…but how did you -?” Sakura just stood there sniffing at the water dish, looking almost as if she had seen a ghost. “I…I don’t believe it!” Dixie began to worry. “Sakura, what’s wrong?” Sandra, up above, had a look of realization on her face. “Dixie,” she said, grinning, “Call it a hunch, but I get the feeling Sakura here ain’t just any vixen, know what I’m talking about?” She winked at Dixie, whose face lit up instantly. “Oh, I understand now!” She smiled at Sakura, “You do remind me of him in a lot of ways, Sakura.” Dixie spoke in her usual calm, gentle manner. “I’m guessing the two of you are related somehow?” Sakura had a look of amazement on her face, but it quickly turned into a smile. The fear of her new surroundings all but forgotten in her excitement of this revelation, she nodded her head happily in confirmation. “That’s right. Chai is my son,” She whispered, scarcely daring to believe her own words, “He’s alive!”

---End Part 13---

Whew, this part was tricky for me to get right. I redid the last paragraph more times than I care to remember. But I think it turned out alright. Enjoy!

Whoops, I was in a hurry to get to bed last night and forgot to update the topic title. Hope that didn't cause too much confusion.

I somehow didn't see the update of this story. Great job, keep going

wow i just now read this whole thing, nice plot, good dialouge, and pretty discriptive. Nice Work! i want to read the rest.
o and i also like the names you came up with

Glad you two like it so far. I'll keep it up, but I'm a bit busy with more current projects right now.

Yeah, the names were fun to come up with. Glad you like them, McCloud.

I always have trouble coming up with creative names, it's the biggest turn-off to writing for me...

Coming up with names isn't always easy, McCloud. One of my tricks is to adopt a name from characters in a video game that I really liked. (Actually I did that with Chai himself) Not that said character bears any resemblance to my character at all. After I had Chai, the other names cam easier in sticking with the theme of plants. And there is another way I've recently started coming up with characters, but more on that after I post the next part:

---Part 14: Two Mothers, One Son---

“So, you are Chai’s real mother?” Dixie asked. Sakura nodded excitedly. “Yes. But I don’t believe it; he was supposed to be dead!? No one thought he could have survived when he went missing two years ago! How did he get here?” Sandra chuckled. “Y’all are one high-strung little lady, Sakura. Actually, it reminds me of young Chai. We were always telling him to slow down and relax.” Dixie grinned. “Like mother, like son.” Sakura sniffed the air intently. “So if he’s living here, where is he now? Can I really see my son again?” She asked anxiously. Dixie frowned; she hated to break such bad news, but she knew it would be wrong to lie. She took a deep breath, and tried to explain. “Sakura, I really hate to have to tell you this, but although Chai indeed has lived here for the past two years, he isn’t here right now. And I really don’t know where he could be at this moment.” Sakura grew more anxious. “What do you mean? I know he was here recently, his scent is almost everywhere.” “Sakura…” Sandra spoke up. “Chai…went missing the other day. We don’t know what happened. He went to the WPA vet – he’s an important human who gives Chai a check-up every few months, to make sure he stays healthy – But when it was time for Chai to return home, he and his crate were nowhere to be found.” Sakura’s eyes were filled with worry. “I don’t understand? He disappeared?” Dixie nodded. “Most of the humans are searching for him as we speak. But…there’s something else. There’s this other human, his name is Garrison; he kills animals and collects their fur coats. He gave us some trouble back when we first took Chai in, but we haven’t heard from him since, well until now. Word is he’s back in town, and the WPA thinks he’s got something to do with Chai’s disappearance. If he really did kidnap him, well…There’s no telling whether Chai is even alive anymore.” Sakura gasped. “Can’t we do anything? Help search for him? There’s got to be a way-“ Dixie shook her head. “I wanted to go help search for him, but...well, things happened. I have to stay here and look after you. If there were any way I could help, I would, but all I can do here is wait” Sakura was silent, staring ahead. ”Oh, Sakura, I’m so sorry. I feel so useless. All I can do is sit here and tell you how bad things are.” “Dixie…” Sakura started. Dixie went on. “I’m really sorry I can’t do more. We’re all so worried about him, and it’s frustrating that all I can do is sit here and wait.” "Dixie,” Sakura repeated. “It’s okay.”

Dixie stopped and looked at Sakura, who had calmed down. “Huh?” Sakura nodded, then curled up on the dusty barn ground. “Please relax a bit, Dixie, you’ve done all you can. I know how you feel. I lost him once too, you know.” Dixie smiled, and lay down next to her. “Thanks, Sakura. Chai means a lot to us. He was as much a son to me, as he is to you. You see, I never had a real son. When we adopted Chai two years ago, it was like a new chance to raise children. I became his foster mother, and I taught him everything I know. When the time came for him to return to the woods, he…didn’t want to go.” Sakura looked puzzled. “I don’t understand?” Dixie sighed. “I don’t either. You’d have to ask him. I really should have forced him to leave, but…I couldn’t let go of him, either. So we let him stay here as long as he felt necessary. He stayed here up until now because he wanted to.” Sakura looked around. “You mean, he would rather stay here than come home to us?” Dixie shook her head. “No…I think it was more like he didn’t have such a home to return to. You must know that Chai missed you very much. But he believed you were dead.” Sakura was flabbergasted. “He did? Oh, Chai…I don’t believe it.” Dixie nodded. “He would be as surprised as you are if he were here right now…” Sakura smiled. “There’s still a chance that he’s still alive somewhere right now, isn’t there?” Dixie nodded. “It’s possible, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up at this point.” “Still, it’s nice to know.” Sakura nodded. “And Dixie? Thank you for all you’ve done for us. Even if he is…gone for good, I’m glad Chai at least survived up to now.” Dixie smiled. “Your very welcome, dear. And I’m glad I got to meet you after all these years.” Sandra chuckled. “Lighten up, y’all! As long as we have nothing else to do, we have plenty of stories to tell you about that son of yours while we wait for the humans to return.”

Dixie turned her head towards the door. “I hear someone pulling up. Don’t know who it is, it sounds like a different truck…That’s funny, sounds like whoever it is sneaking, or trying to.” Sandra frowned. “Huh? Who would be sneaking around here?” Dixie nodded. “Something’s wrong – I’m going to check it out. Sakura, get in the crate for now.” Sakura nodded and did as she was told. She started towards the door, when all of a sudden, there came a voice from the loft. “Dixie, be careful! Don’t go out there!” Everyone turned their heads towards the loft up in the rear of the barn, as a white cat jumped through the window, an expression of worry on his face. “Vinnie?” Dixie asked, concerned. “What’s happening out there?” Vinnie leapt down onto a rafter, then down to the ledge above Sandra’s stall. “Everyone, be careful! I came to warn you.” He said, huffing and puffing. “It’s old Garrison Clyde, the trapper. He’s back, and he’s coming this way!” Sandra gasped. “What is he doing here? He knows he’s been forbidden from the property.” Sakura whined. “Dixie, I’m scared. What’s he going to do to us?” “Is he armed?” Dixie asked. The cat shook his head. “I don’t think so. But he’s wearing leather gloves and boots, and long jeans. I saw him and knew I had to sneak in back and warn you.” Dixie raised her eyebrows. “He’s obviously expecting resistance. He better hope all that will be enough to protect him.” She turned to the Sakura, who was shivering in her crate. “We can’t let him find you here. We need to hide you, and fast.” She motioned to a mound of hay in the corner, near the door. “Sakura, hide in there. Don’t move or make a sound until one of us tells you its okay to come out. Quickly now. Vinnie, hide in the loft and wait for my signal.” The cat jumped swiftly up to the ledge overlooking the main barn as Sakura wriggled into the hay pile. Dixie crouched underneath Sandra, in her stall, and waited. “I want to see what he does, and then we’ll surprise him. Don’t worry, Sakura, we won’t let anything happen to you.”

---End Part 14---

Alright, now we have some suspense, hmm? Now I wanted to say that our newest character, Vinnie the white cat, is in a way special. His character is based on an actual cat I know from my local SPCA shelter, where I've been volunteering since September. Vinnie is an energetic guy, and goes nuts for a string toy. I've played with him for over half an hour at a time in the comunal cat room, and he's one of my favourite cats I've met there.

Here's the SPCA's page for Vinnie, including his photo:

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

I thought I'd do something special, and give him a spot in my story. It was convenient to have a name and character I didn't have to take the time to make up on my own. As it turns out, he fits in perfectly. And Vinnie is not the only shelter animal I plan to cameo here, so stay tuned!

nice, and yes that is pretty suspenceful

Haven't seen anything new with this so I read it again and still can't wait to see more.

Hmm, It's about time to get back to work on this. I've had a lot of good brainstorms since the last part I posted.

The major mental block I'm having right now is with Garrison, the badguy here. He's about to pay the animals a little uninvited visit. My problem with Gary is well, my ideas on him are a little incomplete. He's obviously after the fox, but other than that, he really doesn't have a clear motive, rather than to cause trouble. A villain is more believable when he has a purpose, a method to the madness.

Right now, Garrison Clyde really is only in the story for the purpose of well, being there, and though the reader may not see it right away, I haven't actually given him a clear plan of action yet, making him seem (at least to me) like more of a bumbling troublemaker, when I'd like to present him as a real threat. He feels, how to put it, superficial to the rest of the story, like a distraction from the main show, know what I mean? Only I can't simply drop him altogether because he's neccesary to the plot in a number of ways...

whenever i get writer's block, i listen to music. Sometimes the Lyrics help me come up with stuff

Well, things are moving forwards again. I had another part ready to go, right before I had another brainstorm, and decided it needed a bit of a revision. I'm going to rewrite it a bit, smooth it out. Don't know exactly when it will be finished, but I'm aiming for sometime in the next few days, depending how much free time I get.

The action moves back to the woods, where Chai prepares for the final leg on his trip home.

awesome, can't wait to read it!

Sorry 'bout the delay, but here comes part 14

---Part 15: Where the Heart is---

“Do you smell that, Chai?” Rosemary was sniffing the air as she and Chai walked slowly through the darkening forest, creeping slowly around bushes and tree-trunks. Chai looked around. “Yeah. I’ve smelled it for a while now, since we left my brother’s territory.” The vixen stayed close to his side, her tail low, tension in her steps. “It’s a human, isn’t it?” She whispered to him. “Yes. There was a human around here recently. Earlier today, maybe. I don’t know who it is; it’s no one from my farm. But…I know this scent from somewhere; I just can’t put my nose on it. But it makes me feel uneasy.” “Me too, Chai. I just don’t like it. How far do you think we have to go?” Chai stopped and sniffed the air intently. “The forest is starting to smell more familiar to me. We must be close to home.” Rosemary looked back at him curiously. “Chai, do you mean your home at the farm or your home in the woods where you were born?” Chai blinked. He hadn’t actually thought about it. “I, uh...don’t know. Both of them, I guess.” But in his head, he realized he had been thinking of his old forest home, before that day. The home he was most looking forward to seeing again was the one he hadn’t called home for two years. But before he could ponder this further, his thoughts were interrupted.

SNAP!

"YELP?!"

There was a sudden resounding clap, accompanied by a loud yelp. “Oh no, that sounded like Ginger!” Rosemary was in a panic. “She’s in trouble. We have to find her, and fast!” Chai nodded. “I smell her, she’s this way. Come on!” The two of them ran as fast as they could, and soon came upon a small clearing. Rose stopped and sniffed the ground. “Ginger’s scent is strong; she must be around here somewhere.” “Rosemary? I-Is that you?” A voice was heard nearby. “Ginger? Are you there?” Chai asked, looking around. A vixen stepped out from behind a tree, still shaking from shock. “Chai?” “Yeah, it’s us.” Rose replied, running to Ginger’s side. “You alright, Ginger?” She nodded. “I-I’m fine, I think, just scared half to death. That….whatever that thing is, barely missed me.” She motioned to a metallic object poking out of the grass, gleaming in the sun’s last rays; it looked like a large set of teeth clenched tightly together. “What is that thing?” asked Rose, keeping a safe distance from it. “I don’t know, but there’s a bunch of them in the area.” Ginger replied, taking a deep breath. “Sage warned me about them; he might know more.” Chai moved closer and sniffed it. “There are more of these things around? So Teasel was right about there being trouble.” He returned to the group and sat beside his sister. “Anyway, Ginger, I…uh, you aren’t going to bolt like last time, are you?” She shook her head. “Not this time, I promise. I’m all tired out. I was just so excited back there that I had to run and tell everyone. It’s so incredible to see you alive after all this time.” Chai smiled. “You know, I didn’t recognise you at first. I mean, it’s been two years. It was only this morning that I realized it was you who I’d met the other evening. It’s great to see you again, sister.”

“Ginger!” A voice called out. Ginger looked over her shoulder. “Over here, uncle”, She barked. It’s okay. I’m alright, I just had a bit of a scare.” An older fox ran up to the group. “So did I,” He said, panting. “when I heard you yelp. I thought I’d lost you as well. You know it’s dangerous out here. There are a number of traps like that one around; when I told you not to go wandering about, I meant it.” There was a stern look on his face as he reprimanded his niece. Ginger nodded. “I know. I’m really sorry I scared you. But look who I ran into out here. It’s Chai! I told you he was for real. And this is my good friend Rosemary who I was telling you about. Chai, Rose, meet Uncle Sage!” Rosemary smiled and stepped forward. “Nice to meet you, Sage, I’m Rosemary, a friend of Ginger’s from out east. Chai and I were actually hoping to find you out here.” Chai nodded and started to speak, but Sage was already sniffing him. “Chai? So it is you! What a miracle it is to see you alive and well!” Rosemary chuckled. “Wow, Chai, do you get that from everyone you meet?” Chai rolled his eyes “Ever since we started this journey. But it’s nice to know everyone still remembers me somewhat. It’s nice to meet you, uncle. I didn’t know I had an uncle, actually. Until today. Teasel told me about you.” Sage smiled. “Yes, you’ve missed a lot. Your father Basil was my dear brother, and a very fine fox. When I heard he had…passed away, I came to offer my paw in caring for you kits. By that time, though, you had disappeared. We searched everywhere, but all we could find was your scent, along some others, most of them human. The only conclusion was that the humans had caught and killed you.” Chai shook his head. “Actually, that couldn’t be farther from the truth, uncle. The humans sort of saved my life!”

---End Part 15---

As always, feedback appreciated. I need to know what I'm doing right and what I could improve.